Newcastle United have been preparing for the game since the end of the previous round.

The coaching staff has repeatedly studied Arsenal's recent games, discussed Arsenal's personnel and playing style for a long time, formulated tactics in advance, and let the players do relevant coordination drills in tactical training.

The day before the game, the coaching staff decided on the style of play and the starting lineup.

Allardyce sat in his office, staring at the tactical board in front of him, his body and head remained still, he reached back and took the burger on the table accurately, put it to his mouth and took a big bite, and then put the burger back in place, without even blinking his eyes halfway.

It took about two minutes for Allardyce to finally move, take a deep breath, sit back down at his desk, and grab his burger and feast on it.

The burger was quickly wiped out.

Sam Allardyce felt his mind sharpen, and he recalled the tactics he used to coach Bolton Wanderers against Arsenal --

Defend and counterattack!

Bolton are much worse.

Bolton only has the middle level of the Premier League at most, and when playing against Arsenal, which ranks first in the league attack, they can only choose conservative tactics, let the players go to the field to fight hard, pay more hard than the opponent, and be in better shape and luck to fight for victory.

Newcastle United are much stronger than Bolton, but there is still a gap between them and Arsenal.

This gap must be confronted.

So what is the style of play against Arsenal? The result of the discussion with the coaching staff is to play a balanced 442 attack and defense, and if you play steadily at home, you may be able to beat Arsenal.

Allardyce hesitated.

If he had a choice, he didn't hesitate to use 'defensive counterattack' and play defensive with a team that is good at attacking, which is the most advantageous choice, but the team's situation is also embarrassing.

In Newcastle United's lineup, the midfield can be described as 'gorgeous', and it can even be said that 'no worse than any team', and the ability level of the back line is a notch worse.

"This line of defense is impossible to hold!" Everyone has the same conclusion.

Sam Allardyce also understands the weakness of the defensive line, and the use of defensive counter-attacks will allow the opponent to have more offensive opportunities, and the weaknesses of the defensive line will be exposed to the greatest extent.

So they can only choose to play head-on.

'Offensive and defensive balance' is just a term, and the offensive team really plays, and as the pace of the game continues to accelerate, the 'offensive and defensive balance' quickly becomes an attack.

That's what Allardyce fears.

When the game becomes 'head-to-head mode', the two sides fight for goal-breaking efficiency, even if Newcastle United scored more goals in the first four games, he is not sure that the efficiency can surpass Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger said in an interview that Newcastle United's goal numbers are unhealthy, and as long as the opponent restricts Zhen Shaolong, the efficiency of the entire team will drop significantly.

Will it still be Arsenal's opponent?

"Damn Michael!"

Allardyce scolded Owen for his displeasure in Owen because he had been 'inefficient' for a long time, scoring only one goal in the past games.

If Owen and Zhen Shaolong are as efficient......

No!

Even if it's only half the efficiency, he can relax and play against Arsenal head-on.

Owen is the second-most played striker so far, but he has only scored one goal.

Allardyce has the heart to send Martins.

This is where the helplessness lies.

The game with Arsenal is too important and has received too much attention, and after the end of the last round, it has been expected by various media analysis, and it is better to let Owen play after comprehensive consideration inside and outside the field.

"Just give him another chance!" Allardyce gritted his teeth and decided, "If it doesn't work, let Martins come!"

Sam Allardyce shook his head helplessly and looked at the proposed starting lineup.

Forward: Zhen Shaolong, Owen.

Milner is a steady anchor on the left, and Enzobia on the right can also be trusted.

The two midfielders are Barton and Bart.

Barton...... This point?

'He can really try to start, and the pass to Zhen in the last game was beautiful. Allardyce approved of the look down.

Smith plays at left wing-back, combining with N'Zogbia to add to the impact on the left, while the other three in the back line are Taylor, Rozenar and Karl.

"So be it!"

Allardyce confirmed.

————

The afternoon before the game, Sam Allardyce announced his starting line-up and squad.

The starting lineup was a bit of a surprise, and it was basically reasonable.

The two positions of focus in the team are Barton's starter and Smith's switch to left wing-back, but Barton is a top technical star, Smith is a versatile player on the field, and his hard work is still convincing, and the starter is also acceptable.

Sole......

Owen was a little unacceptable.

After listening to the list of the starting lineup, Owen suddenly had a bad premonition, because Barton and Smith both started, these two guys are the people of the 'Zhen Shaolong camp', and they are the same when they get to the game, they are very happy to pass the ball to Zhen Shaolong.

Milner......

This kid seems to have defected!

Owen has no choice, he knows that it is difficult to call the performance good, it is good to start, and he has no right to interfere with the work of the head coach.

He could only accept it.

Fortunately, there are also Bart and N'Zogbia in the starting lineup, so they should pass the ball to themselves more, right?

Owen smiled a friendly smile at Bart.

Nicky Butt felt inexplicable and somewhat 'disgusted' in his heart, yes, he and Owen were not familiar with each other, there was no personal friendship to mention, and there was even some disgust, which came from the hostility between Manchester United and Liverpool.

Bart came through the Manchester United academy and Owen came through the Liverpool academy.

Manchester United and Liverpool don't play against each other!

Bart's glory days at Manchester United were just in time for Owen to become a 'boy chasing the wind', and the two sides would not have a good attitude on the field.

Don't talk about history.

During his time at Newcastle United, Bart and Owen also did not intersect, with Bart returning to Newcastle United last season and Owen being injured and almost a season.

Bart is a player who desperately wants to pursue honors, he is also older, and he knows that there are not a few years to mix, how can he have a good impression of a guy like Owen who gets a high salary, does not perform much, and is not in good shape and still grabs a position?

If he made a choice between Zhen Shaolong and Owen, he did not hesitate to choose Zhen Shaolong, Zhen Shaolong averaged two goals a game, and he was the hero of Newcastle United's ranking first in the league!

Another player, the young N'Zogbia, is one of the best performers in the team, but he is often overlooked, because he has a very poor language and has been playing for Newcastle United for more than two seasons, and he can only communicate with his team-mates.

So......

Owen was really alone.

————

St James' Park.

Newcastle United and Arsenal players stood on either side of the pitch and the referee blew the opening whistle as the crowd cheered on support.

The competition has officially begun.

The surrounding stands were overcrowded, and the shouts of more than 50,000 fans made the scene seem very boiling.

The two sides also played passionately.

Newcastle United and Arsenal are not conservative, it seems that because they know each other, both sides are quickly involved in the game, and the continuous offensive and defensive defense makes the game particularly exciting.

The offensive battle is the favorite of the fans, and the spectacle of the game will be greatly enhanced, and the cheers of the fans in the audience will be louder than the other, as if there will be no interruption.

In continuous attacks, the opportunities of the forward players tend to increase a lot, but Zhen Shaolong's feeling is not good, he finds that he is being targeted by the opponent--

William Garas!

From the first minute of the game, Gallas came over to defend Zhen Shaolong, he is a very strong player, he is also very experienced, he is definitely the world's best defender, and one person can support the entire defense.

A defender of this level is a bit overkill to defend the opposing striker alone.

And then......

Zhen Shaolong became very difficult, it was difficult for him to receive passes from his teammates, and continuous passes from teammates meant continuous failures.

Newcastle United's first few attacks were all ended by him.

Sidelines.

Wenger sat firmly in the coach's seat, watching the opponent's attack on the field, stopping in the same position again and again, and couldn't help but show a confident smile, as if everything was under control.

This is the planned marking strategy.

Newcastle United's forward combination, Zhen Shaolong and Owen, sounds very shocking, and it is no problem to sweep the Premier League, but in fact, Owen's efficiency is not high, he is the kind of player who is a little afraid of injury, and there are some dodges on the field, and his performance will naturally be affected.

As long as Zhen Shaolong is restricted, most of the other party's efficiency will be stuck!

Then, go head-to-head!

Arsene Wenger believes that Arsenal's efficiency will be much higher than that of Newcastle United!

It's self-confidence!

However, the situation in the game, Arsenal is not dominant, Arsenal adopted the strategy, is to let Gallas keep an eye on Zhen Shaolong, even if other players do not work for defense, it is equivalent to one less central defender, Gilberto has to retreat continuously, and even stay in the backfield for most of the time to ensure the stability of the entire defensive line.

Football matches are like that.

There can be fewer people in the frontcourt, but it is absolutely not possible in the backcourt.

The striker 'spells' the central defender, his own efficiency is affected, and the opponent must also supplement the defense, because the single central defender is very dangerous, and the attacking side is always advantageous, even if Owen's efficiency is not good, let him face a central defender alone, he may send the ball into the goal.

Gilberto stayed at the back for a long time, and Arsenal equaled one less man in the middle.

Cesc Fabregas was too tired to support alone, and he faced back-to-back battles with Joey Barton.

Cesc Fabregas is Arsenal's core midfielder and the core star of the entire team, his skills are certainly fine, he is quite good and outstanding, but it is difficult for him to take advantage of the 'bad boy' Barton one-on-one.

Fabregas's feelings are probably no better than Zhen Shaolong's.

In the opening fifteen minutes, the two sides were evenly matched.

Zhen Shaolong was very depressed when he stood in the front court, and the support of his teammates was very timely and in place, but Gallas around him was indeed experienced, and it was too difficult to pass the ball on the ground.

"Highball!"

"Highball!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity of a dead ball, Zhen Shaolong said to Barton, "If I play high ball in front, maybe I can fight for points in front of the goal." "He wanted to try it.

If a teammate kicks the ball in front of the goal in a row, they can activate the ball by finding an opportunity to hit the ball just a little bit.

Barton didn't understand, but nodded.

In the next five minutes, Barton and Milner respectively hung a kick in the penalty area, once to find Owen's point, Owen failed to grab it, and once to find Zhen Shaolong's point, Zhen Shaolong was stuck in the position, and he didn't even have a chance to scramble.

After two consecutive failures, Zhen Shaolong felt that he should remind his teammates to 'play normally', don't always pass the ball to himself, it is meaningless to waste opportunities again and again, he is still more accustomed to waiting for opportunities.

When I think so, the opportunity comes right away.

Zhen Shaolong was standing on the right side of the penalty area, and after his teammates passed around with their feet, he ran to the middle of the penalty area, and Barton fell again and fell to the top of his head.

Gallas was stuck in his position and jumped up to clear the siege as soon as possible.

Then.

Zhen Shaolong suddenly had a flash of inspiration, remembered the method of controlling the ball, and immediately jumped high, and the moment he shined, he immediately turned on his skills.

Then he didn't care about the ball.

After trying his best to keep the landing stable, the effect disappeared due to physical contact with Gallas, but the "football following effect" also had an effect, the ball fell steadily in front of him, Zhen Shaolong immediately reacted, kicked the ball to the right, and then quickly followed.

Others did not react at all.

When Zhen Shaolong kicked the ball to the right, the experienced Gallas didn't even know where the ball was, he didn't have the strength to top it after jumping, and he couldn't keep his balance at all when he landed, and he stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

The players around him also felt that Gallas could make a successful clearance, and most of them looked ahead.

And then...... What about balls?

Several players looked left and right, only to find that the football was on the right, and a Newcastle United player chased after it, and swung his right foot in reverse with the rhythm.

"What's going on?"

"What happened?"

"Bang!"

In their dazed surprise, the ball was already rushing towards the goal and drilling into the near corner exactly against the right post.

At this time.

Most of them reacted and found out that the player's number - number thirteen!

Zhen Shaolong!